The Club World Cup is finally up and running — and soccer may never be the same

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — After more than a year of uncertainty and criticism, the Club World Cup kicked off in Miami on Saturday and soccer may never be the same.

At least that's what FIFA president Gianni Infantino has been telling anyone who would listen.

“This tournament will be the start of something historic that will change our sport for the better,” he said this week as part of an exhausting schedule of public engagements to drum up interest in the monthlong event staged across 11 cities in the United States.

Soccer's newest tournament is what the sport has been waiting for, Infantino says, and on Saturday, despite considerable pushback and obstacles, he turned his personal passion project into a reality.

The Swiss lawyer, who holds one of the most powerful positions in the world as head of soccer's governing body, was on hand at a largely full Hard Rock Stadium to watch Lionel Messi's Inter Miami draw 0-0 with Egyptian team Al Ahly in the opening game of his super-sized Club World Cup.

The match may have been underwhelming, but the occasion — kicked off with a lavish opening ceremony featuring music, dance routines and fireworks — was a moment of immense pride for Infantino and conclusive proof of his influence over the most popular sport on the planet.

Despite his assertions, it's not clear how much soccer really wanted another elite tournament. But this was his baby — so much so that his name is etched not once but twice onto a giant golden trophy crafted by Tiffany & Co. that will be lifted by the winner on July 13.

It has gone ahead against the backdrop of legal challenges in Europe, threats of strike action from players, and fears of injury and burnout for the biggest stars.

There have been concerns about overreach by FIFA — which has traditionally focused on national team soccer — and the detrimental impact a new club competition would have on domestic leagues.

But nothing was going to stand in the way of Infantino's plans to expand the Club World Cup from its previous guise as a seven-team midseason mini tournament to a 32-team extravaganza that could one day rival the Champions League and Premier League as one of the most popular and wealthiest competitions in the world.

Time will tell if it lives up to Infantino's billing, but he has navigated the biggest hurdle of all by getting this inaugural edition off the ground.

It is locked into the calendar — every four years — and teams such as Champions League winner Paris Saint-Germain already have qualified for the next edition in 2029.

"Maybe not now in its first edition, but it will become an incredibly important competition to win,” PSG coach Luis Enrique said.

He may have a point. Peculiarly, and despite the global nature of soccer, the club game has largely been restricted to continental competition, aside from the previous guise of the Club World Cup, which was often looked on as little more than a exhibition.

Still, it remains unclear how much of an appetite there is for another soccer tournament in a calendar that has reached saturation point.

So a crowd of more than 60,000 at the Hard Rock Stadium likely came as a relief to FIFA, though it is not known how many of those in attendance paid anything like the $349 being quoted for seats in December.

FIFA has not offered definitive numbers on the amount of tickets sold for the tournament as a whole and prices were slashed as the opening game approached. But there were only pockets of empty seats in the stands, with many red-shirted fans of Al Ahly in attendance.

“We’ve been looking forward to it for a long time,” said Peter Sadek, a fan originally from Egypt who now lives in Orlando. “At least 50 more just from our area (are coming). It's been bubbling up for a long time and you can see how many are here.”

Other Al Ahly fans had traveled directly from Egypt, with red shirts outnumbering the pink of Miami in parts of the stadium.

If only Messi could have crowned Infantino's big night with a moment of magic.

He certainly tried.

His stunning curling effort from long range, deep into stoppage time, would have been the perfect finish. Instead, Al Ahly goalkeeper Mohamed Elshenawy tipped the ball onto the crossbar to deny the Argentine great and Infantino that prize moment.

Not even Infantino can have everything, it seems.

James Robson is at https://twitter.com/jamesalanrobson

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Artists perform during the opening ceremony ahead of the Club World Cup group A soccer match between Al Ahly and Inter Miami in Miami, Fla., Saturday, June 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

A young fan holds up a placard ahead of the Club World Cup group A soccer match between Al Ahly and Inter Miami in Miami, Fla., Saturday, June 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

Inter Miami's Lionel Messi prepares to take a free kick during the Club World Cup group A soccer match between Al Ahly and Inter Miami in Miami, Fla., Saturday, June 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

FIFA president Gianni Infantino gestures ahead of the Club World Cup group A soccer match between Al Ahly and Inter Miami in Miami, Fla., Saturday, June 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

The FIFA logo is emblazoned with the club crests of competing teams prior to the Club World Cup group A soccer match between Al Ahly and Inter Miami in Miami, Fla., Saturday, June 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

EAGAN, Minn. (AP) — Harrison Smith's 14th year as a steadying presence and energizing force in the secondary for the Minnesota Vikings has hardly been smooth.

The undisclosed health-related matter that sidelined him during training camp was a major setback to his conditioning, putting him in catch-up mode for most of the first half of the season. The Vikings defense was more vulnerable than usual over those early games, too.

Then with the offense struggling through the developmental process with quarterback J.J. McCarthy, the Vikings stumbled through November to drop to 4-8 and precipitate their elimination from playoff contention.

But lately?

“I’ve been playing football a long time,” Smith said after Minnesota's victory over the Detroit Lions on Christmas Day, “and I have not had fun like that in my whole career.”

Smith received the NFC Defensive Player of the Week award for that performance in his 206th regular-season game, after logging three passes defensed, two tackles for loss, one sack and one interception. He last won that award in 2018.

With career totals of 21½ sacks and 39 interceptions, Smith is just the second player in NFL history to hit those marks, behind Pro Football Hall of Fame member Ronde Barber, who had 28 sacks and 47 interceptions. Smith is also one of four players all time, with Barber, Brian Dawkins and Charles Woodson, to total at least 50 tackles for loss, 100 passes defensed and 200 regular-season games played. Smith (202) also trails only Jim Marshall (270) and Mick Tingelhoff (240) on the team’s all-time list for career starts.

Following the interception against the Lions, Smith was feted on the sideline in a circle of his teammates. He was the recipient of multiple ovations from the U.S. Bank Stadium crowd. Afterward, as Smith tried to sum up what that experience meant to him, his voice cracked several times before he had to pause to compose himself.

“The fans here have never experienced a Super Bowl. They always show up, and for them to keep showing up ... it just shows how much they love the team, how much they love everything that goes into it," Smith said. “We’re out of the playoffs, and everybody shows up in white. They do their part, and one of these days they’ll get it.”

The scene sure felt like a farewell. But so did Smith's emotional postgame remarks after the Vikings were ousted from the playoffs last season.

Could he envision himself returning for a 15th year?

“I can’t speak on that right now. I’m a very much in-the-moment type of guy,” Smith said.

Vikings coach Kevin O'Connell, who has forged a close relationship with the six-time Pro Bowl safety, has made no secret of his desire to keep Smith in place.

Defensive coordinator Brian Flores has turned over some of the play-calling and decision-making to Smith on the field before and after the snap, and an increased emphasis on blitzing in recent weeks has paid plenty of dividends.

"He has an unbelievable feel of the system. He has an unbelievable feel of what ‘Flo’ and the defensive staff really want to do, and he’s out there playing a game within the game,” O’Connell said. “It’s been spectacular to watch. It’s been awesome from my perspective to watch what he’s able to do at this point in his career mentally, and then physically he’s making a lot of plays as well.”

The uncertainty about next season for the defense stretches beyond Smith, with other expensive veterans facing the possibility of being released for cost savings with the Vikings projected to be well over the salary cap approaching the 2026 league year.

Then there's Flores, whose contract will soon expire, making him a free agent. Though his landmark discrimination lawsuit against the NFL that’s still in the court system nearly four years later continues to loom over any interviews he gets for head coach openings, there's also an opening for another club to try to lure him away with a break-the-bank offer for a lateral move.

O'Connell said this week that he doesn't anticipate such a scenario playing out and hopes to have him as long as he can before he's hired again as a head coach.

“I love Minnesota. I love this team. I love working for and with K.O.," said Flores, who was head coach of the Miami Dolphins from 2019-21 and joined the Vikings in 2023. "This place has shown me a lot of love, and I show them right back, and so I don’t know how much more there is to it. From a football standpoint, it fits. There’s always a, let’s call it, business part of this. But the football all lines up. We’ll just see where it all goes.”

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL

Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff (16) throws under pressure from Minnesota Vikings safety Harrison Smith (22) during the second half of an NFL football game, Thursday, Dec. 25, 2025, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Bruce Kluckhohn)

Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores stands on the sideline before an NFL football game against the Detroit Lions, Thursday, Dec. 25, 2025, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Bruce Kluckhohn)